Two Mindsets That Could Be Limiting Your Success at Work

The fear of success is prevalent in some of us. It might start out with an idea you come up with. In your head, it’s wonderful and innovative, but the second it goes on paper, you start dreaming up ways that it will fail, rather than do what you should’ve done in the first place:

Pass it off to other team members and let them decide.

Because if that idea has any merit, you’ll have contributed something great to your company. But if your mindset is always stuck on ways something will fail, then how do you plan to ever be successful at work?

Here are two other mindsets that might be putting your true success at a standstill.

“I was never great at [insert skill] in the past”

I was reminded about this in an article from the Wall Street Journal a while back. And it makes perfect sense. Let’s say you’re being asked to run tomorrow’s meeting. Normally it’s your manager who does it, but he or she is out sick. So you have to prepare on the fly, make notes, maybe put together some slides and show it off to the executive team in the conference room.

You just aren’t 100% comfortable with doing all three of those things at the same time and tell yourself, “Well I’ve never really been great at presenting.”

And just with that sentence, you’ve set yourself back. Because it’s easier to say you were never good at something. But that phrase is just selling yourself short. We all have the ability to become better presenters, to speak with more confidence, etc. It’s just you have to apply yourself and learn new skills and tricks that help your diction.

Just stop saying “I’ve never been great at...” because then your past will always dictate your present and future.

"I don’t want to brag”

Sometimes success is stalled by your desire to keep individual accomplishments out of the limelight. You don’t want to brag about every achievement for fear of being seen as selfish. And when your achievements are highlighted by your peers, you might clam up and try to deflect the praise elsewhere.

But keeping quiet can sometimes work against you. Without some type of positive feedback, how will you measure your efforts toward future projects?

I mean, we’ve hit the benefits of being recognized at work before. You get that amazing rush of adrenaline. Your contributions are making a difference and boosting your confidence. And you should want to work in an environment where every accomplishment - whether individual or communal - is celebrated.

So don’t feel bashful all the time. Pretend it’s like school and there’s a big announcement. Would you rather have it shared over the intercom or passed around secretly like it’s gossip? Which option will make you want to experience the joys of success more?

What other mindsets keep you from being more successful at work? Let us know in the comments.